If this is your first visit, be sure to
check out the FAQ by clicking the
link above. You may have to register
before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages,
select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below.

Welcome to CycloneFanatic.com. I notice you haven't taken the time to register yet, now is as good of time as any:)

Re: Blame Bruce for the current football scheduling

Originally Posted by heitclone

I don't get why people think an FCS, MAC and middle of the road b1g team is too tough a schedule. Seems spot on to me. It's not like we play Ohio State or Wisconsin, its Iowa. They have just enough media cred to make it a nice win for us but its usually a game we COULD win. Other than the year we hosted Utah, I don't think ISU has had anything overwhelming for a non conference schedule.

It's not so much that it's tough as it is over half of other 'big 5' teams are playing easier schedules with an extra cupcake or three and generally nobody notices or cares. I absolutely cringe when I hear an ISU fan complain there shouldn't be computers involved in the bcs. The computers are generally the only thing that notices the big 12 and PAC 12 have been playing tougher schedules than everyone else.

Re: Blame Bruce for the current football scheduling

Personally, I don't like playing Iowa. I hate it. Don't even look forward to the game at all.

Probably because I'm not the type of person that runs around and rubs it in my Hawkeye friends' faces and gets enjoyment from that, but on the other hand, my Hawkeye friends just LOVE nothing more than rubbing it in my face for an entire year, so I have to put up with that. It's annoying as hell. And I just cringe when I think how badly they will likely beat us again this year and having to deal with Hawk fans for another year. Just depressing.

With that being said, I don't see any reason for us to be scared of playing Iowa. Over the last 10-15 years we've won as many as we've lost, so it's not guaranteed loss by any means. However, like Adam Gray pointed out correctly, it would be better to play someone you can beat 90% of the time versus 50% of the time.

But the fact is, ISU MUST recruit better than they have and develop players better as well. We are a member of one of the best football conferences in the entire country. But to be blatantly honest, 70% of our team is made up of MAC level talent, not Big 12 level talent. And it shows when teams like UNI come in here and push us around. That is just beyond unacceptable IMO.

So the answer is to not schedule any differently than we have IMO, it's to just get better players and to develop them better so we can compete with the Big 12 and destroy teams like UNI, NDSU, Toledo, etc.

There are actually people on here that think scheduling schools like UNI, NDSU, and Toledo is too hard for us to handle. Really?? We've seen it already in this thread.... people wanting us to not schedule UNI anymore because they are too tough to beat. Really??

We are Iowa State University. Proud member of the Big 12 Conference. Why in the world should we be scared of facing an FCS team in UNI? C'mon. Think about what we are saying here.

So, how do we recruit better players? You know, Big 12 level players. You have to pull out all the stops IMO. And JP is doing a lot of that already by all the advancements in the stadium. I think the SEZ will help a LOT. Recruits would visit here and wonder why Jack Trice Stadium was nothing more than a glorified high school stadium with bleachers in the endzones? ISU is now bringing in more revenue than ever before, and it's high time that we look like a big time football program that plays in the Big 12. And the SEZ should help that a lot.

And I hate to go here, because I don't really think it matters a whole lot, but it does matter some IMO, but JP and Rhoads need to embrace today's younger generation and their likes and dislikes. We should experiment with some alternate uniforms and embrace it. Looking really cool does matter to some of these kids. It's just a fact.

And don't let your 50 year old head coach, or however old he is, determine what music the team enters the field to. We get it Paul.... you love Smoke on the Water, but most kids nowadays don't even know what that song is.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying we can't beat UNI because we don't have cool uniforms and cool music because that isn't necessarily true. But at Iowa State, we need to do everything we can to attract the best players. I don't understand why I see teams like NDSU come in to Ames with better DT's and QB's than we have? Where is the disconnect? Why can these teams go out and find these players and get them to come to NDSU, but we can't find high level talent to come and play in one of the top conferences in the entire country?

And if you look, NDSU doesn't get many multiple star recruits, so they sure must develop them better than we do or something?

Sorry for the rant, but we just need to get better, plain and simple. Our schedule will always be tough in the Big 12. If we can't handle that, then maybe we shouldn't be in the Big 12?

Re: Blame Bruce for the current football scheduling

I'm in favor of rotating Iowa out of the schedule every now and then, not to ease up the schedule, but to free up a spot to play someone else. With 9 Big 12 games + Iowa + UNI almost every damn year, we really only the flexibility for one game each season. That gets boring as a fan.

I'd love to try to work in other regional Big 10 schools (Minnesota, Illinois, Wisconsin, etc) or play games in regions that we recruit (e.g., Central Florida).

I also feel like a fair number of our fans could use some time away from Herky.

Re: Blame Bruce for the current football scheduling

I love the game but Iowa State vs Iowa is going to have to be dumped with a 9 game conference schedule. No power conference school with a 9 game conference schedule would schedule Iowa as a non-conference game.

Re: Blame Bruce for the current football scheduling

Originally Posted by clonedude

Personally, I don't like playing Iowa. I hate it. Don't even look forward to the game at all.

Probably because I'm not the type of person that runs around and rubs it in my Hawkeye friends' faces and gets enjoyment from that, but on the other hand, my Hawkeye friends just LOVE nothing more than rubbing it in my face for an entire year, so I have to put up with that. It's annoying as hell. And I just cringe when I think how badly they will likely beat us again this year and having to deal with Hawk fans for another year. Just depressing.

With that being said, I don't see any reason for us to be scared of playing Iowa. Over the last 10-15 years we've won as many as we've lost, so it's not guaranteed loss by any means. However, like Adam Gray pointed out correctly, it would be better to play someone you can beat 90% of the time versus 50% of the time.

But the fact is, ISU MUST recruit better than they have and develop players better as well. We are a member of one of the best football conferences in the entire country. But to be blatantly honest, 70% of our team is made up of MAC level talent, not Big 12 level talent. And it shows when teams like UNI come in here and push us around. That is just beyond unacceptable IMO.

So the answer is to not schedule any differently than we have IMO, it's to just get better players and to develop them better so we can compete with the Big 12 and destroy teams like UNI, NDSU, Toledo, etc.

There are actually people on here that think scheduling schools like UNI, NDSU, and Toledo is too hard for us to handle. Really?? We've seen it already in this thread.... people wanting us to not schedule UNI anymore because they are too tough to beat. Really??

We are Iowa State University. Proud member of the Big 12 Conference. Why in the world should we be scared of facing an FCS team in UNI? C'mon. Think about what we are saying here.

So, how do we recruit better players? You know, Big 12 level players. You have to pull out all the stops IMO. And JP is doing a lot of that already by all the advancements in the stadium. I think the SEZ will help a LOT. Recruits would visit here and wonder why Jack Trice Stadium was nothing more than a glorified high school stadium with bleachers in the endzones? ISU is now bringing in more revenue than ever before, and it's high time that we look like a big time football program that plays in the Big 12. And the SEZ should help that a lot.

And I hate to go here, because I don't really think it matters a whole lot, but it does matter some IMO, but JP and Rhoads need to embrace today's younger generation and their likes and dislikes. We should experiment with some alternate uniforms and embrace it. Looking really cool does matter to some of these kids. It's just a fact.

And don't let your 50 year old head coach, or however old he is, determine what music the team enters the field to. We get it Paul.... you love Smoke on the Water, but most kids nowadays don't even know what that song is.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying we can't beat UNI because we don't have cool uniforms and cool music because that isn't necessarily true. But at Iowa State, we need to do everything we can to attract the best players. I don't understand why I see teams like NDSU come in to Ames with better DT's and QB's than we have? Where is the disconnect? Why can these teams go out and find these players and get them to come to NDSU, but we can't find high level talent to come and play in one of the top conferences in the entire country?

And if you look, NDSU doesn't get many multiple star recruits, so they sure must develop them better than we do or something?

Sorry for the rant, but we just need to get better, plain and simple. Our schedule will always be tough in the Big 12. If we can't handle that, then maybe we shouldn't be in the Big 12?

Well said. I think the SEZ project will help a lot, but we need to get in the uniform game too. I like Smoke on the Water, but it's now run it's course and maybe the team should decide the song for the field entry.

Re: Blame Bruce for the current football scheduling

Originally Posted by Newell

I love the game but Iowa State vs Iowa is going to have to be dumped with a 9 game conference schedule. No power conference school with a 9 game conference schedule would schedule Iowa as a non-conference game.

18 of the 22 power 5 conference teams who play a 9-game conference slate have a power 5 conference opponent in their non-con. Every other Big 12 team, sans Baylor, has one, and 9 of the 12 Pac 12 schools have a power 5 conference opponent scheduled. Hell, USC and UCLA have 2.

Re: Blame Bruce for the current football scheduling

Originally Posted by chuckd4735

18 of the 22 power 5 conference teams who play a 9-game conference slate have a power 5 conference opponent in their non-con. Every other Big 12 team, sans Baylor, has one, and 9 of the 12 Pac 12 schools have a power 5 conference opponent scheduled. Hell, USC and UCLA have 2.

It also wouldn't be a stretch to say that 18 of those 22 teams have football programs that are in a better place than ours today. Despite the uniforms, we are not USC, and the needs of our two programs are totally different.

Re: Blame Bruce for the current football scheduling

I'd MUCH rather watch Iowa State vs. Iowa than Iowa State vs. Savannah State. Even if we lose to Iowa. For all of those wanting to do away with the Iowa game for a cupcake, when has the Iowa game cost us a bowl berth? It doesn't happen often.

I get that people don't like to lose to a rival but I'd much rather lose to Iowa 6 out of 10 times than for us to lose to UNI 2 out of 10 times. THAT'S embarrassing.

Re: Blame Bruce for the current football scheduling

Originally Posted by heitclone

I don't get why people think an FCS, MAC and middle of the road b1g team is too tough a schedule. Seems spot on to me. It's not like we play Ohio State or Wisconsin, its Iowa. They have just enough media cred to make it a nice win for us but its usually a game we COULD win. Other than the year we hosted Utah, I don't think ISU has had anything overwhelming for a non conference schedule.

This is how I came full circle on the Iowa game. I could do without it...but Iowa is convenient and a win looks good. I don't worship it like some state holiday (hawkfans don't either btw) but if we're tied to it we might as well get the most out of it.

Re: Blame Bruce for the current football scheduling

Originally Posted by aeroclone

It also wouldn't be a stretch to say that 18 of those 22 teams have football programs that are in a better place than ours today. Despite the uniforms, we are not USC, and the needs of our two programs are totally different.

It also wouldn't be a stretch to say that 12 of those opponents are better then Iowa.

Re: Blame Bruce for the current football scheduling

Originally Posted by chuckd4735

18 of the 22 power 5 conference teams who play a 9-game conference slate have a power 5 conference opponent in their non-con. Every other Big 12 team, sans Baylor, has one, and 9 of the 12 Pac 12 schools have a power 5 conference opponent scheduled. Hell, USC and UCLA have 2.

I would use the Missouri model of building a team from doormat to ranked. Soft non-conference schedule. If you remember they paid Iowa to get out of a scheduled 4 games series when Pinkel first took over the program.

Not to offend or insult anybody but Iowa State isn't USC or UCLA. ISU needs several years of bowl games to get recruiting to a competitive level.

All content owned by CycloneFanatic.com - All rights reserved 2005-09. By viewing this website you agree to the Terms of Service, Site Rules and Legal Disclaimer. The words, views, images and opinions expressed or provided by users do not reflect the opinions or views of CycloneFanatic.com or Iowa State University. The names, words, symbols, and graphics representing Iowa State University are trademarks and copyrights of the University protected by the trademark and copyright laws of the United States of America and other countries and are used on this web site under license from the University. Original site design, premise & construction by Jeremy Lind.